Meta Takes on Twitter: Instagram Launches New App, Threads
image credits: Threads
Unveiling the App
The existence of Threads was first uncovered by MoneyControl in
March and subsequently confirmed by Platformer. Meta, the parent company of
Instagram, provided a sneak peek of the app to its employees during a
company-wide meeting in June. Additional leaks shed light on the target market
for Threads, which primarily consists of high-profile celebrities, influencers,
and artists. Meta has planned an impressive range of features for this new
platform.
Expanding Reach and Features
While Bluesky, the Twitter competitor backed by Jack Dorsey, has
been gaining popularity through its own decentralized protocol, the AT
Protocol, Instagram is taking a different approach. Threads will soon support
ActivityPub, the same social networking protocol used by Mastodon, an
open-source Twitter alternative, and other federated applications. By
incorporating ActivityPub, Threads will have the opportunity to engage with
Mastodon's ecosystem, which boasts 1.7 million active users. However, the exact
timeline for this integration remains uncertain.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, expressed the company's
commitment to implementing ActivityPub into Threads. He acknowledged the
challenges associated with a decentralized network and cited the significance
of this feature. Mosseri emphasized the importance of being able to retain
one's audience even if they decide to leave Threads or face de-platforming. The
openness of the platform enables users to seamlessly transition to another
server, safeguarding their online presence.
Navigating a Competitive Landscape
Threads' choice to embrace ActivityPub puts it in competition
with other Mastodon clients, including independent apps like Ivory and the
Mozilla-funded Mammoth. Flipboard, Medium, and Automattic, the owner of
WordPress.com, have also invested in the Mastodon ecosystem, aligning
themselves with the Twitter exodus. Nevertheless, Meta's entry into the open,
decentralized social web has sparked concerns about its potential to employ an
"embrace, extend, and extinguish" strategy. This strategy aims to
dominate the emerging market, drawing parallels to how Google established
dominance in web-based email.
In
conclusion, Instagram's new app, Threads, is set to revolutionize the social
media landscape. With its text-based format and support for ActivityPub,
Threads will cater to the preferences of high-profile individuals and offer
greater control and flexibility in building and retaining audiences. As Meta
continues to shape its decentralized strategy, the competition within the Mastodon
ecosystem intensifies. Only time will tell if Threads will emerge as the
dominant force in this emerging market or if other contenders will seize the
opportunity to challenge Meta's dominance.
image credits:
Instagram for your thoughts
In a move
to enter the realm of microblogging, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has
made an ambitious foray with the launch of its latest app, Threads. While the
app's success remains to be seen, this is an opportune time for Meta to explore
this space. However, it's important to note that Meta has had mixed results
when it comes to building successful stand-alone apps in the past.
Over the years, the company has discontinued
numerous stand-alone apps, including Hello, Moves, Paper, Poke, Camera, Home,
Slingshot, Rooms, Riff, Bolt, Lifestage, Groups, Stickered, Moments, Notify,
Bonfire, Lasso, Novi, and others. These include well-known features like
Boomerang, Hyperlapse, Direct, IGTV, and Threads from Instagram, as well as
various experiments from their internal incubator, NPE team, such as BARS,
E.gg, Forecast, Collab, Kit, Hobbi, Tuned, and more.
To access Threads, users will need to authenticate
using their current Instagram login credentials. The app will then populate
with their existing account details, including their name, username, photo, and
followers. Verification status will also carry over to the new app.
This integration gives Threads an advantage in
terms of user sign-ups, as highlighted in leaked marketing materials that
mentioned how "one tap" allows users to follow the accounts they
already follow on Instagram.
Beyond the immediate access to their network, the
app's integration with Instagram offers another benefit: users' block lists
from Instagram will be carried over to Threads. Additionally, Threads follows
the same Community Guidelines as Instagram, making it easier for users to
understand what is acceptable and what is not. Users will also have the ability
to toggle their post replies to specific audiences.
Instagram has been experimenting with various ways
for users to connect beyond sharing photos and videos through Reels, Stories,
and Feeds. In February 2023, the platform launched "broadcast
channels," enabling creators to engage more directly with followers by
posting text, images, polls, reactions, GIFs, and more in messages within users'
Instagram inboxes. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been utilizing this feature to
share product news. Developers and reverse engineers have been delving into
Instagram's code to uncover how Threads would function, including Alessandro
Paluzzi, who discovered that the app would support up to 500 characters—less
than Twitter's 10,000 characters for paid subscribers, but more than its 280
characters for non-paying users. At one point, Meta referred to the app as
"an Instagram for your thoughts."
Social media consultant Matt Navarra reported in
mid-May that Meta was seeking early adopters, particularly high-profile
influencers and celebrities in the entertainment industry, to try a pre-release
version of the app. Today's launch is not the first time Instagram has
experimented with text-based updates. In December, the company introduced
Notes, a feature that allowed users to leave short, 60-character text posts for
friends to see just above their Instagram DM inbox. In June, the feature was
updated to include music sharing. It's worth mentioning that Instagram
previously launched a separate app called Threads, which resembled Snapchat,
but it is no longer available.
Privacy concerns surrounding Threads have also
emerged. Prior to its launch, the app was available for pre-order on the App
Store, and some users noticed extensive data collection practices. According to
Apple's listing, the Threads iOS app may collect various types of user data,
including health information, financial data, purchase details, contact information,
usage statistics, browsing history, and other sensitive information.
Unfortunately, this data collection is not unique
to Threads but is a common practice among major socialplatforms such as TikTok,
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, all of which are owned by Meta. However, with
an increasing number of alternatives vying to become the "next
Twitter," users now have more agency in choosing platforms with less
dubious privacy practices. Nevertheless, Threads has an advantage due to its built-in
integration with users' existing Instagram networks.
Given the ongoing privacy concerns surrounding
Meta's suite of apps, Threads will not be launching in the EU, at least for the
time being. Sources at Meta, as reported by The Guardian, indicate that the
launch has been postponed due to legal uncertainties related to data usage
under the Digital Markets Act, which was passed in March. Meta has valid
reasons to exercise caution regarding this evolving legislation in the EU, as
evidenced by a previous fine of around $1.3 billion for transferring European
Union user data to the U.S. for processing.
As of now, users in the EU have one less
alternative to Twitter. For those who have access to Threads from the start,
they will have the opportunity to decide whether they want to allocate an even
greater portion of their attention to Meta's family of apps.
In conclusion, Meta's entry into microblogging with
the launch of Threads showcases its ambition to compete with Twitter. While the
company has faced challenges in sustaining successful stand-alone apps in the
past, Threads has the advantage of leveraging Instagram's existing user base
and integration. Privacy concerns persist, and Threads' launch in the EU has
been delayed due to legal uncertainties. As the competition for the "next
Twitter" intensifies, users now have the freedom to choose platforms based
on their privacy preferences. Only time will tell if Threads can establish
itself as a prominent player in the microblogging landscape or if other alternatives
will seize the opportunity to claim that position.